The Lonzo Ball deal
Ball was a sign-and-trade from New Orleans who the Bulls didn’t have to give up much to get, so it looked like a big win for Chicago, especially when the Bulls started winning with Ball.
But that didn’t last, as Ball got hurt and has missed the last 2.5 seasons. He says he’ll be back at the start of the next one, but no one is betting on that happening.
It wasn’t like this came out of nowhere either, as Ball was often injured leading up to the trade which is the main reason NOLA had no interest in bringing him back.
Ball had missed a ton of games in LA and New Orleans, so giving him a team-friendly extension with incentives and a team option would have been the smart thing to do. Instead, Ball got a deal with a disastrous player option at the end of it (the Karnisovas special) that he exercised this offseason, meaning the Bulls will likely be paying Ball upwards of $21 million to sit on the bench for the third straight year. What a deal!
This trade was some of his better work, but still blew up in his face after Ball predictably got injured.